Airless spray guns have been known and used for many years. Such guns have always been somewhat hazardous due to the high pressures involved. Accidental injection of fluid is possible if the painter should place the spray tip too close to a body part. Approximately ten years ago, tip guards came into widespread use, typically providing a duck-bill shaped device which made it difficult for a person to get the tip much closer than approximately an inch to a body part. At such a distance, the danger of injection is substantially reduced or eliminated.
One problem with all the prior art tip guards, however, has been that such guards tend to accumulate paint during spraying. This has resulted in two problems. First of all, the spray may tend to build up a liquid film on the guard and then drip off the gun, thereby providing a messy situation and possibly dripping onto the floor or operator. In addition, paint can accumulate and be carried off the tip guard by the aerodynamic forces of the spray onto the painted surface, thereby causing splatters and other imperfections in the painted surface. As a result, many painters tend to remove the tip guard to solve these problems in spite of the increased safety hazard produced by doing so.
Also, as paint builds up on the tip guard surface, the operator will often use a rag to wipe the inner tip guard surface. If the gun is accidentally triggered while doing so, injection may result.
It is, therefore, an object to this invention to provide a tip guard which provides substantially the physical protection provided by prior art devices. It is further an object of this invention to provide a tip guard which tends to resist accumulation of paint during spraying, thereby removing the incentive for the painter to remove the tip guard. It goes without saying that the tip guard will not be effective unless it is left in place by those for whom its use is intended.